With a new Fire Emblem game coming out on the horizon, the Social Media team got to talking about our favorite games from the series. Which is your favorite? (Mine is Awakening, by the way. Probably biased, given that it was what brought me onto the series to begin with.)

Hello friends of KH13! Long time no see. I wanted to take time to talk about my favorite game on the 3DS, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. This is a game that's been out since April of 2017, but I wanted to take time to acknowledge it because it's quite a beautiful piece of media. There will be minor spoilers for those that don't know anything about the game.
What's Fire Emblem?
I have always been a big fan of the fire emblem series, more specifically Awakening and Fire Emblem GBA. For those unfamiliar with the series, you have an army of characters at your disposal that you can move across a map and defeat enemies. Just like in chess, each character has its strengths and weaknesses depending on what class they are. So, for example, a pegasus knight can move a very far distance and over most obstacles, but they have poor defenses and are weak to bows. So not only is it important to defeat enemies, but it's also important that your allies are in a location where they are safe from other enemies after the turn has ended. It's very important, especially in the older games, to be cautious about your placement, because your characters will die and you will have to restart the map if you want them back.
However, as many people will tell you, Fire Emblem is much more than that. I originally played Awakening and absolutely loved it. I enjoyed the idea of having so many characters that were your friends, but also fought by your side as allies. Plus, there are so many characters to choose from, and, even if they aren't the strongest of characters, you can pour enough EXP into them and help them become strong. It's almost the characters I find myself liking the most throughout my replays, because you can get very attached to them and you feel legitimate sadness if you slip up and they die. As someone who started playing on casual (filthy, I know) I find myself so much more invested in the game when the threat of permadeath looms over me. It's an excellent mechanic that makes the game more engaging.
Why Echoes?
Now, on the topic of Fire Emblem Echoes. I had already played Awakening and Fates by this point, and I was ready for a new Fire Emblem game. Knowing it was a remake of Gaiden, which came out in 1992, I was a little hesitant. I heard the story was subpar and dated as were the mechanics. There wasn't even a weapon triangle, which is a well established staple of the series by this point. But, starting up the game, listening to the music, seeing the amazing artwork of Hidari Akio Shimada, I was instantly hooked. This game was such a unique experience for me that I can't quite put my finger on everything that it does right. However, I can try to cover as much as I can in this post.
Story
You start off meeting these two orphans, All and Celica, who are branded with a special birthmark on their hands. They are raised by Sir Mycen, an ex-general who, though comes off as cold, is a very powerful and kindhearted man. Alm is a confident boy who has a little crush on Celica and spends time with her more than anyone else in their small village. Celica is a shy girl with a rather dark past that you come to understand later in the story. Eventually, the two are separated, though Alm promises Celica that he will look for her. A time skip occurs, and you find yourself leading two separate parties, Celica's escorts who help her on her pilgrimage to find the goddess Mila, and the The Deliverance, an army that Alm joins in order to escape the village he's known his whole life. Throughout the story you get to see these characters grow as leaders, and even make some pretty irrational decisions (they are teenagers, after all).
Yet I think that the most important and impactful part of the story is the battle between gods and man. In the kingdom of Valentia there are two gods, Mila and Duma, who govern each half of the continent. Eventually this leads to Duma becoming corrupted with power, and Mila being unable to stop him. You realize that these almighty gods are just like humans, they are imperfect. It is Alm and Celica who are destined to bring the age of gods to an end and allow for humans to live under their own terms. I found this story to be extremely compelling, as you notice how Alm and Celica embody the ideals that the gods had before becoming corrupt. The rest of the story, I can agree, is nothing revolutionary, but it's satisfying nonetheless.
Soundtrack
I find myself constantly going back to the soundtrack for this game. It's so beautiful and hits all the right notes for me. What Lies At the End, Twilight of the Gods, and March to Deliverance are some of the most intense video game themes I've ever listened to (and that's saying something considering KH2 is my favorite game lol). They are not only beautiful, but they set the stage perfectly for the events that are happening when they play. For the sake of spoilers, I'm avoiding the context for most of the songs listed, but March to Deliverance sets the perfect mood for Alm's time in the army making his way through the ranks. It's very uplifting and heroic, using violin, percussion, and piano to drive the song through.
Voice Acting
Did I mention that nearly EVERY line in the game is voiced? The voice actors for this game are amazing. Ian Sinclair does a FANTASTIC job as Berkut, one of the main antagonists. His range of raw emotion is incredible. I can't say that anyone really has a bad voice either, as it all flows smoothly throughout the game. Just the fact that they managed to record that many voice lines for a game like this is incredible. On top of that, there are memory prisms you pick up throughout the game to help you understand the lore, and they're all voiced. It's incredible how much effort was put into the voice acting alone.
Gameplay
And finally... gameplay. Oh, do I love the gameplay. It's not like any other Fire Emblem game you'll play. It's traditional because it lacks the support systems added in Awakening and Fates, however there are optional support conversations if you want to get to know the characters better throughout each chapter. Each character, depending on what class they have, has a default weapon that they don't have to equip. You can choose to make your characters more offensive or defensive by giving them a sword or shield that boosts their attack or defense respectively. You can also give them food items that allow for them to heal themselves in battle if your cleric can't do so. Also, they FINALLY BUFFED ARCHERS. Granted they're a bit broken in this game but I'm happy it's them and not pegasus knights.
What really sets this game apart from the rest of the series is dungeon crawling. This sounds like a really strange fit for fire emblem, which is focused mostly on long, strategic battles over short encounter battles. But it actually works. Playing the game on hard, the enemies were not completely overwhelming to fight and most of them could be avoided. They are almost always clumped together so you can fight all of the enemies in one room if you alert them all, which makes battles much faster but more challenging. The game rewards you for being patient and strategic, but you're not forced to play that way like the other games. You're sometimes forced to make quick decisions so you can make it through a dungeon and re-class your characters.
Tl;dr: This game is really fun. It's got an interesting premise and story that's worth getting invested in. It has very lovable characters that feel real because of the environment and incredible voice acting. The art and music are so fitting to the universe and it's left a big impact on me. And the gameplay is fun and engaging and makes you want to keep playing. So, I recommend the game to any who hasn't gotten a chance to play it and has a 3DS, and hope to hear from the people that have played it about their own experience with it.

Extended Gameplay Trailer:
Talk about what characters you want in it, etc
I believe these characters have a good chance of being confirmed:
Chrom (Obvs)
Lucina ....Because why pretend
Corrin wasinsmashsoimn
Ryoma
Xander
Marth, because he's marth, but also
Ike
Roy
I'd be surprised if the last two didn't make it in tbh

After the release of Fire Emblem Fates a few days ago in North America, I thought it might be fun and helpful to get a discussion thread going for those of us playing through the game. If anyone wants advice for something in the game (Either path), has a question about a game mechanic, wants to battle someone else in-game, or just wants to share what's going on in their game, we can use this thread to do so! I just ask that people try not to spoil anything since the game is recent and not everyone has been able to get both paths yet (I've just got Birthright at the moment and I'll probably pick up Conquest some time around April, sooner if I'm lucky).
To get things started, I did have a question that I'd like to ask: Does anyone know of any easier options to get minerals and food ingredients not native to the player's My Castle? I have access to pearls and rice, but it seems like if I want anything else, I'll either have to get lucky in the lottery, talk to a unit and hope to get something new, or visit another castle. I'd like to get some other minerals soon, so I wanted to know if anyone has found any other methods to get these.

So this will be the General Topic of Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem/Gen'ei Ibunroku ♯FE. For the first post of this topic, I have a video by GameXplain who might have found Tiki in the latest trailer of the game. So we now have some sort of connection to Fire Emblem.

So as you all know I'm A HUGE Fire Emblem Fan!!!!! :wub:
So in the game you have three choices to how you want the story to play out, Hoshido,Nohr,​and the Invisible Kingdom (DLC).
There Are 2 different versions of this cutscene (There might be a third one but I don't know :huh: ).
Let Me Know Which Is Better And Why and No I'm not doing this because I need more attention to my profile, I'm Doing This Because I Really Want You Guys Honest Opinions On This Topic. Enjoy The Video! :biggrin:
I Also Recommend That You Put On The Subtitles.
https://youtu.be/keWj755icyY

It's really hard to choose for me, with the Nohr, they kidnapped you from the Hoshidos and raised you as their own. But with the Hoshidos, they're your birth family and you were kidnapped by the Nohr. Will you betray one for another or deny/accept both?

So I came across these pictures:
It looks like this unit might be our Avatar. That means we get to customize them like we did in Awakening. Also for those wondering how he/she might look like, here's a still from the trailer from the same exact unit!
Look at who is talking to the green unit, same exact outfit with different hair. They can't be genderbending, so it shows its customizable.
Plus I have a feeling white hair is what they go for default avatars, so it just makes it even more likely. So what do you think?

Back in June, during E3, Nintendo said the development of SMT x FE was right on schedule. Best Buy has on their website that SMT x FE is available for pre-order even though no news about the game has been released since.
Best Buy: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/shin-megami-tensei-fire-emblem-nintendo-wii-u/8713099.p?id=1218887711785&skuId=8713099&ref=25&loc=SHP&srccode=cii_45538312&cpncode=32-407115038-2
Source: http://www.gamnesia.com/news/shin-megami-tensei-x-fire-emblem-available-for-pre-order#.VDMHVhaCLt1